Chapter 196: Vast Sea Cosmic Dome

"Please, Father Emperor, enlighten me!" Qian Renxue found the Snow Night Emperor's words somewhat hard to understand; since she already knows Tang San's identity, why not try to win him over? The Snow Night Emperor said, "You may not understand the Clear Sky Sect well; its members will never sacrifice their lives for others, nor will they attach themselves to any faction."

"Because..."

At this point, a disdainful smile appeared on the Snow Night Emperor's face, "Members of the Clear Sky Sect are not only proud, but also extremely selfish."

"When confronting the Spirit Hall, those single‑attribute Fourth Clan members who sacrificed themselves for them were outright abandoned, with no regard for their lives."

"Who would dare trust such a sect?"

Qian Renxue was momentarily at a loss for words; she hadn't expected the Snow Night Emperor to see so clearly.

Then the Snow Night Emperor continued, "I tell you this hoping you can approach Tang San, show him goodwill, and even incite Tang San and Tang Hao to cause trouble for the Spirit Hall."

Qian Renxue was taken aback; although she was an undercover agent and understood the Snow Night Emperor's plot, this was clearly an unsolvable overt scheme! Tang San and Tang Hao would certainly cause trouble for her Spirit Hall.

"Your son understands!"

The Snow Night Emperor looked at Qian Renxue and smiled with satisfaction, "Qinghe, your father believes you can handle this matter well."

Then, changing tone, "However, the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect cannot be neglected either."

"The Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect is our primary target for recruitment; your relationship with Yu Yuanzhen's grandson is good, so you must maintain it."

Qian Renxue sneered inwardly, "Hmph, Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect? This lady will certainly not forget that scoundrel Yu Tianyun; I will definitely tame him."

At that moment, the Snow Night Emperor suddenly said, "That girl Xue Ke must be of marrying age by now..."

"Uh?" Qian Renxue was instantly jolted back to reality by the Emperor's shocking words, her eyes wide open and her mouth twitching slightly.

"Please, Father Emperor, reconsider; my younger sister... she is still young." Without any reason, Qian Renxue instinctively opposed the Emperor's suggestion.

Marrying Xue Ke to Yu Tianyun would be like throwing a meat bun at a dog—what a waste! The Snow Night Emperor frowned slightly, "Qinghe, I know you cherish Xue Ke the most, but being born into the imperial family requires this kind of enlightenment; you must understand this!"

By the end, the Snow Night Emperor's tone inevitably grew heavier.

He originally thought that as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe he would understand his intention and agree with his decision, but he did not expect him to oppose it.

"It seems Qinghe is not that ruthless; could the deaths of the second and third truly be unrelated to him?" Seeing Qian Renxue's reaction, the Snow Night Emperor couldn't help but feel some doubt.

He now does not know whether to be glad or sad; as an emperor, he wishes his heir to be fraternal yet also cold‑blooded.

"We must never let Xue Ke be ruined by that scoundrel!" Qian Renxue frantically concocted reasons for herself.

Does she truly care about Xue Ke? She probably doesn't even know herself.

Nevertheless, she does have some fondness for Xue Ke; after all, Xue Ke poses no threat to her status and always treats her as an older brother, clinging to her.

Because of her own childhood experiences, Qian Renxue cherishes family bonds; facing the cute, lively sister Xue Ke, she unwittingly assumes the role of an elder brother.

"Father..."

"Qinghe!" The Snow Night Emperor showed a hint of impatience and cut Qian Renxue off, "My decision is made; no further discussion is needed."

When the Snow Night Emperor is private with his family, he rarely refers to himself as "I", but once he does, it signals his anger.

"Your son understands!" Qian Renxue replied helplessly, reluctantly agreeing.

But she felt a gnawing hatred; she couldn't understand why Yu Tianyun was so popular with women. Even though he already had many women around him, others still rushed to bring him more, "I really want to slash that... that scoundrel!"

The Snow Night Emperor looked at Qian Renxue and said earnestly, "Qinghe, you must know that to become an emperor you must be cold‑blooded; letting emotions dictate actions will ruin the realm!"

"The world is largely fair. Xue Ke, born into the imperial family, enjoys luxuries ordinary people cannot, so she must bear corresponding duties."

"This is her innate mission; even if she does not marry Yu Tianyun, I will marry her off to someone from another faction."

"Moreover, sending her away does not wrong her."

"I see the women around Yu Tianyun all possess extremely rare talents; surely Yu Tianyun's own talent must be even higher."

At this point, the Snow Night Emperor stared intensely at Qian Renxue and asked, "Qinghe, you are quite familiar with Yu Tianyun; how do you assess his talent?"

"Yu Tianyun has potential for Title Douluo!" Qian Renxue already tried to speak modestly; with her status as Xue Qinghe, her perception could only be so limited.

If she were to tell the Snow Night Emperor the truth—that Yu Tianyun has potential to become a deity—who knows what actions he might take, and it could also expose her identity.

After all, the original Xue Qinghe knew absolutely nothing about any divine matters.

"Excellent! You must maintain a good relationship with him," the Snow Night Emperor's eyes glittered, his heart a bit stirred.

If this can be accomplished, it would be more than merely finding a protector deity for the royal family.

On Douluo Continent, where do a Soul Master's martial soul originate?

Naturally, they are inherited from one's parents! Moreover, aside from the special case of Tang San that the Snow Night Emperor cannot comprehend, a person's martial soul is inherited from the side of the parents whose martial soul is stronger. A prodigious youth with potential for Title Douluo must have powerful genes.

Undoubtedly, if Xue Ke bears Yu Tianyun's child, that child's martial soul would almost certainly be a Blue Electric Tyrannosaur!

Furthermore, with so many women around Yu Tianyun, he may not focus on any particular child; under Xue Ke's guidance, bringing this child close to the royal family would be much easier.

Thus, their royal family would not only have a protector deity in Yu Tianyun's generation, but in the next generation, and, if things run smoothly, possibly every generation of the Tian Dou royal line would possess its own true protector deity.

If it succeeds, it would be a hugely profitable venture; nothing could be more worthwhile.

But the Snow Night Emperor immediately frowned again; of course, matters would not be as simple as he imagined.

The Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect generally practices intra‑clan marriage and places great emphasis on bloodlines. Although there are many libertines like Yu Tianyun, most still take Soul Masters who also wield the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Weapon Soul as wives.

Even someone like Yu Luomian, who has an illegitimate son or daughter abroad, as long as the martial soul is a Blue Electric Tyrannosaur or another strong one, the sect will bring them back for cultivation.

(Of course, Liu Erlong's wings have hardened, making her extremely resentful toward Yu Luomian; forcibly taking her back would backfire. Hence they chose a gentle approach, trying to satisfy Liu Erlong's demands, such as establishing the Lan Ba Academy for her.) For talented female Soul Masters like Liu Erlong, even if they marry outside the sect, they will demand the husband to be taken as a son‑in‑law; otherwise they will not marry outsiders. Therefore, the Snow Night Emperor's plan to place Yu Tianyun and Xue Ke's child into the royal line is essentially impossible.

It should be noted that the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect desires high‑talent battle‑type martial souls even more than the Tian Dou royal family, yet after millennia, they have not produced any direct disciples with other combat‑type martial souls.

In fact, there are several reasons why the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect lacks direct disciples with other martial souls.

1. Geniuses are often proud, and few top‑talent prodigies with supreme martial souls are willing to marry into the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect.

2. The martial souls of the Qi Bao Liu Li Tower are of extremely high quality.

In fact, they have successfully taken in some civilian prodigies with top‑tier martial souls, but the outcomes left them both laughing and crying.

Because the children born still inherit the Qi Bao Liu Li Tower martial soul.

Although this martial soul cannot advance to a Soul Douluo for a lifetime, it is still considered the continent's top support‑type martial soul, its quality not inferior to the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur or the Clear Sky Hammer, and may even be slightly stronger, ranking among the highest of elite martial souls.

According to martial soul inheritance theory, a child born naturally has a higher chance of awakening the Qi Bao Liu Li Tower martial soul.

3. The powerful martial souls possessed by civilian Soul Masters are all mutated martial souls.

Some of the martial souls of the civilian geniuses they recruit may even be stronger than those of the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect.

However, for civilians to awaken a powerful martial soul, it must be through a mutated martial soul. Mutated martial souls are generally extremely unstable and hard to pass down.

Four, the problems faced by Snow Night Emperor are similar.

Only large sects such as Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect and the Clear Sky Sect possess top‑grade martial souls that can be stably inherited.

The Qi Bao Liu Li Sect certainly tried, but those two sects are not foolish, so they certainly did not succeed.

Because in inter‑sect marriages of this kind, the awakened martial soul determines which side it belongs to, making it impossible for a sect to let its own martial soul flow outward.

In fact, this generation of Ning Fengzhi is the closest generation of the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect to possessing its own Soul Master.

For example, Sword Title Douluo and Bone Title Douluo have martial souls no weaker than the Clear Sky Hammer and the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur, and they are not mutated martial souls but can be stably inherited.

Moreover, both are solitary, without family ties, making them perfect seeds for the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect to absorb.

Yet both are engrossed in the path of a Soul Master and pay no attention at all to reproducing offspring.

This leaves Ning Fengzhi extremely helpless and heart‑broken; he wishes so much that the two could unleash their youthful vigor once and pass on their legacy.

With the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect as a cautionary tale, Snow Night Emperor will no longer naively think he can claim the child of Yu Tianyun and Xue Ke as his own.

Of course, he could have Xue Ke seduce Yu Tianyun to obtain his "seed," but that would undoubtedly sour relations with the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect.

When that time comes, if Yu Yuanzhen learns of it, he will probably come in person and take the people away, and their Heavenly Dou Royal Family will end up losing both wealth and people.

Therefore, he only asks to subtly influence her and Yu Tianyun's child through Xue Ke's upbringing, bringing the child closer to the royal family.

But this is not easy; the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect will surely see through his obvious intentions, and Yu Yuanzhen likely will not give him that chance.

After all, their own people know their own affairs; the Heavenly Dou Royal Family's Swan martial soul is merely an ordinary high‑grade martial soul.

Moreover, Xue Ke's own talent is also average, incomparable to the women around Yu Tianyun; the only thing that catches attention is Xue Ke's status.

Yet when have sects like the top three ever cared about status? They value talent more when choosing a partner. Only by pairing with a partner of comparable talent can offspring of similarly good talent be born.

In their eyes, status truly isn't that important; after all, most of these sects have histories longer than the Heavenly Dou Empire.

In fact, inter‑sect marriages are few to begin with, and marriages with the royal family are even rarer, usually arising only from special circumstances.

Therefore, Snow Night Emperor must pay a price to make the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect hard to refuse this marriage.

"Qing He, this marriage may be refused by the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect, so… if necessary, we can use the national treasure as a bargaining chip!" Saying that, Snow Night Emperor produced a wholly crystal‑clear blue triangular object and handed it to Qian Renxue.

Snow Night Emperor felt a bitterness; their treasury does contain some ten‑thousand‑year soul bones, but none suitable for the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Weapon Soul, so the only thing the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect would covet is likely this national treasure—the Vast Sea Cosmic Shield.

In fact, the reason Snow Night Emperor is willing to give away the Vast Sea Cosmic Shield to forge this marriage is not solely because of Yu Tianyun's talent.

What truly makes Snow Night Emperor use the Vast Sea Cosmic Shield as a chip is the strength of the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect.

At today's VIP seat, with his political acumen, he vaguely sensed that Ning Fengzhi is looking up to Yu Yuanzhen.

This is worth pondering; previously, the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect, because it had two great Title Douluo, was a head stronger than the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect.

Yet now Ning Fengzhi bows his head before Yu Yuanzhen and has married his most beloved daughter over there, which sufficiently shows the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect's unfathomable strength.

Additionally, there is Dugubo, this wild Title Douluo, who also sent his granddaughter over, further confirming Snow Night Emperor's conjecture.

It should be noted that Dugubo regards his granddaughter as immensely important, even more than Ning Fengzhi's treatment of Ning Rongrong, yet he still sent his granddaughter to Yu Tianyun, who already has many women around him.

Even if Snow Night Emperor were foolish or obtuse, he could understand that the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect is no longer the same as before.

In Snow Night Emperor's eyes, Ning Fengzhi and Dugubo certainly are not only attracted to Yu Tianyun's talent.

Among the leaders of these major forces, or the Title Douluo‑level combat power, a talented seed is important but not that crucial; they value Title Douluo‑level combat power more.

Therefore, Snow Night Emperor naturally guessed that the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect certainly has more than one Title Douluo, and its overall strength must surpass that of the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect.

In Snow Night Emperor's mind, the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect is now more important than the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect.

Moreover, gaining the friendship of the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect also indirectly gains the friendship of the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect and Dugubo; besides, their Heavenly Dou Royal Family already has good relations with the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect and Dugubo.

Once the marriage succeeds, their Heavenly Dou Royal Family will have tighter ties with these forces, and when facing the Starry Constellation Empire and the Spirit Hall, they will be more composed and confident.

…

(End of Chapter)